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Saturday, October 29, 2016

ARC Review: Arctic Fire by Keira Andrews

Blurb:

When two strangers are trapped in a blizzard, heat rises.

Haunted by what he lost in Afghanistan, Captain Jack Turner is at a crossroads. While the last place he wants to go is the Arctic, at least the routine mission gets him out from behind his new desk. But he starts off on the wrong foot with the Canadian Ranger guiding him across the forbidding and dangerous land, and Jack would rather be anywhere than sharing a tent with Sergeant Kin Carsen.

The Arctic is in Kin's blood, and he can't seem to leave the tundra behind. He wishes he could live openly as a gay man, but the North isn't as accepting as the rest of Canada. Although he's lonely, he loves his responsibility as a Ranger, patrolling the vast land he knows so well. But he's on unfamiliar ground with Jack, and when they're stranded alone by a blizzard, unexpected desire begins to burn. Soon they're in a struggle to survive, and all these strangers have is each other.

Dani's rating:

The Arctic is endless ice and northern lights. It’s intense cold and bone-deep loneliness. Kin Carsen knows. The Arctic is his home. Kin is a teacher and a ranger. His life is peaceful and predictable. Until the day he meets Jack.

Jack left a piece of himself behind in Afghanistan. He’s drifting, going through the motions, but he’s not living, not really. Sent to the Arctic on a discovery mission, Jack thinks the whole thing is pointless. But his commander insists. He knows Jack needs . . . something, something other than a desk job.

For Kin and Jack, it’s not love at first sight. Jack comes across as arrogant and dismissive. And Kin is defensive and standoffish. He knows this land better than anyone, and Jack has much to learn.

This story has a light enemies-to-lovers feel. There is a sense of anticipation, a slow burn. The men spend but a few days together, yet it feels like so much longer.

Because this is a Keira Andrews original, the story is beautifully written and there is a definite sense of place. Time seems to stand still as Kin and Jack get to know each other. There are heated kisses in the middle of a frozen land. There’s danger. And TRUST.

This story is fairly light on the sexy but high on the feels. Both men have lost someone close to them, and both play the what-if blame game.

The ending is a hopeful HFN. There is a sense of purpose, but Arctic Fire could easily be the first in a series. Much is less unresolved.

I would gladly read more about Jack and Kin.

Get the book:

The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.

~Jane Austen

An ARC of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. Download links are provided as a courtesy and do not constitute an endorsement of or affiliation with the book, author, publisher, or website listed.